


Author 






Title 



Imprint. 



&y/2- 






/2»*^* ^s£<- 






J~if 



NEW SYSTEM 



FOB 



MEASURING AND CUTTING 



LADIES' DRESSES, 



CLOAKS, COLLARS, CAPES, YOKES, &c. 



WITH AN 



ARITHMETICAL TABLE, 



For which the Author received a Patent from the United States, January 23, 1841. 



X 




By AARON A. TENTLER. 



PHILADELPHIA : 



Printed by J. Sharp, No. 270 North Second Street. 

1842. 







Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1841, by 

AARON A. TENTLER, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern 

District of Pennsylvania. 



r^ /■ 




PREFACE 



The Author takes pleasure in presenting to the Public, and 
to the Ladies in particular, this little work, which he trusts 
will prove serviceable to every one as a manual. He is 
impressed with the conviction, that any one, after reading it 
carefully two or three times,— keeping the Arithmetical 
Table in view at the same time, — will be able to cut any kind 
of dress, after any fashion, in a very easy manner ; and that 
such dress will fit as well as if it had been cut in any other 
way. He has not the least doubt that this little book will 
realize his expectations ; for by the aid of it, every lady may 
learn to make any kind of dress herself, in a very short time ; 
while the learning of the trade requires a long time, and is 
far more expensive and difficult. She will, also, not run the 
risk of forgetting, in future, any thing of it ; for a careful 
perusal of the book will soon recall every thing to her 
memory. 

Before we proceed to the subject itself, we would call the 
attention of the reader to several points which must be care- 
fully observed. 

When taking the measure, the individual must always stand 
facing you, in an erect position. The Arithmetical Table 
must be so placed that the figure of the front waist will bd 



on your left, that of the back to your right, and consequently 
the scale immediately before you. It is also advisable to cut, 
at first, a pattern of white paper, in order to save stuff; this, 
however, is not necessary with the skirt, for you can tear it 
after the length of your measure. 

Read very carefully two or three times the directions for 
measuring ; then take the measure before you proceed fur- 
ther ; and in like manner for each part of the work. 



A NEW SYSTEM, <frc. 



THE MEASURING. 

You take a strip of a paper, and cut it 1| yards 
long, and l£ inches wide, and double it. One 
end of this paper must be cut to a point, as the 
annexed figure shows, in order to know where 
the measure begins. You then put this pointed 
end of the measure exactly under the arm where 
the sleeve is sewed in, and measure down as far 
as the waist may require ; precisely at this spot 
you make a hole in the paper, and write over 
it No. 1. (See the figure.) When this is done, 
you again take the top of the measure, and put 
it right on the place where the skirt is to be 
sewed on the waist, and let it come down as far 
as the length of the dress is demanded. Here, 
again, you make a hole in your paper, as be- 
fore, and write down No. 2. (See the figure.) 
Now put the top of your measure again under the 
arm where the sleeve is sewed in, and measure 
to the wrist, make a mark on the measure, as 
before, and write down No. 3. Measure then 
the width of the wrist, beginning again with the 
pointed end of the measure, double it in half, 
make on the spot to which this half reaches a 
nick in one edge of the paper, as the figure 
shows, and write down No. 4. Now measure 
with the pointed end of your measure, from 
one arm to the other, across the breast, from 
and to the place where the sleeves are sewed 
in, then double this width of the breast in half, 
a2 



!>No.4 
No.l 

o 

► No.5 I 

► No-6 a 



}> No.7 1 
No.3 



No.2 



and mark such a half of the measure by two nicks in the 
edges of the paper, and write down No. 5. Now take 
your measure again, as before, and measure the width of 
the waist, but omit in front a space about as broad as your 
thumb ; of this measure you take again the half, make on 
the spot to which it reaches nicks on both edges of the 
paper, and write down No. G. Again the measure is to 
be taken on the pointed end, and yuu measure, precisely 
under the arms, around the body, as well behind as in 
front, not higher nor lower than mentioned. The measure 
must lie very close to the body, and be drawn together 
well id front ; the half of this width is again marked on 
the measure, on both edges of the paper, by nicks, and 
marked No. 7. It is necessary, if a third person be not 
present, for the one who holds the measure to pin it on the 
back, that it may not come out of its position; for this 
measure is to be taken very exactly, being the main mea- 
sure, on which the whole calculation of cutting a dress is 
based. 



/WV\V>V»WV» 



CUTTING OF THE BACK WAIST. 

Having put the Arithmetical Table before you, so as to 
bring the pattern of the back waist to your right, and the 
scale immediately before you, take a piece of white paper, 
(perfectly clean, so that the maiks made shall not be ob- 
scure or confused,) about 22 inches long by 12 to 15 inches 
broad, and put this paper under the right hand side of the 
Arithmetical Table, on which the figure of the back waist 
is found, and place it square with the Table, both above 
and below, and on your right hand side. This paper now 
lying under the Arithmetical Table, (the only table men- 
tioned in this book,) is to be the pattern of the back waist. 
Now place something heavy on the Table, that nothing 
can be disturbed. Taking the pointed end of the measure 



in your left hand, you lay it on the beginning of the Scale, 
which is marked at your left hand on the Arithmetical 
Table, and see how far No. 7 of your measure reaches on 
the scale. If now, for instance, the nicks of No. 7 on your 
measure should reach as far as to 8 on the scale, you 
make dots with a pencil in each of the holes which are to 
be found in the figure of the back waist on the Arithmeti- 
cal Table, at 8 ; but in such a manner that the dots 
may be seen distinctly on the paper which lies under the 
table. You will have then the same small pattern which 
is drawn on the table, which is so small, however, that 
it would only suit a toy. But if the nicks of No. 7 on 
your measure should reach on the scale as far as to 15, (it 
is always understood that the pointed end of your measure 
is to be laid on the beginning of the scale on the left hand 
side of the table, and which is marked thus, jCT*) make 
dots with a pencil in all the holes on 15, in each of the 
lines proceeding from 8, on the small pattern of the 
back. If the nicks of No. 7 on your measure reach on the 
scale between 15 and 1G, you will make dots in all the 
holes between 15 and 16, in each of the lines which pro- 
ceed from 8, on the small pattern of the back, begin- 
ning with the letter A, and ending with the letter H. So 
you will proceed, if No. 7 on your measure should reach 
a lower or higher number on the scale ; making dots in the 
holes on the figures which No. 7 reaches to, in ali the 
lines proceeding from 8, of the small pattern of the back 
waist. It is very necessary to be careful, in making the 
dots, not to overlook any of the lines proceeding from 8. 
You ought also to commence on your right hand, with the 
letter A, and go round to your left, ending with H. 

Having marked carefully all the dots on the paper under 

the Arithmetical table, you bend the table a little on the 

right hand side, and put down near each of the dots the 

same letters, as you find them on the table near each 

a3 



8 

line on the small pattern of the back waist, namely, A, D, 
C, D, E, F, G, EL The lines are then to be drawn with a 
ruler as follows: the first from A to H, the second from 
A to B, the third from B to C, the fourth from E to F, 
the fifth from F to G, and the sixth from G to H. Ob- 
serve, from C to E, no line is to be drawn, for here must 
be left a space for the circle of the sleeve-hole. In order 
to obtain this circle correctly, connect the dots C, D and 
E, by several smaller dots, and finish the circle ; keep at 
the same time in view the circle of the small pattern on 
the table, and you will perceive in what manner the circle 
is to be made. 

The length of No. 1 on your measure will, however, 
seldom fit the pattern, since one person is tall and thin, 
and another stout and small. You have therefore to lay 
the pointed end of your measure on the dot C of the pat- 
tern, and let it come down as far as B, or rather always as 
far as the measure of No. 1 will require, and there you 
make a mark. It is commonly the case, that the measure 
No. 1 reaches further than to B. If this be the case, then 
add as much to the dot A as to B, and draw a line from A 
to B. In order to obtain this lengthened line in the same 
direction w r ith the pattern, complete the two lines from A 
to H and from B to C, to the lengthened line. If the pat- 
tern which you have made according to the table be longer 
than the measure No. 1, cut as much off. Now be careful 
that you put down correctly the letters on the pattern, as 
you find them on the table, on the inside of the pattern, 
that the letters may not get lost by cutting. This pattern, 
which is close to the neck, can also be cut to the taste of 
the lady, as may be seen on the table. Further, it is to be 
remarked, that the letters A and B are to be placed where 
the line, which has been lengthened in accordance with 
the measure No. 1, reaches to, in order to avoid any mis- 
take. Finally, the pattern of the back may be cut out 
exactly after the lines. 



CUTTING OF THE FRONT WAIST. 

You proceed with the front waist exactly as with the 
back. You take again a piece of white paper, as large as 
that for the back, and place it in the same manner, but it 
must extend 2 inches beyond the table on the left hand 
side ; you then place something heavy on the table. If 
the measure of the back pattern be 15, or between 15 and 
16, you will have to apply here the same number, or lather 
the one to which No. 7 reaches. You begin again with 
the line A, proceeding on the small pattern from 8, and 
continue going around and marking dots in all the holes 
until you conclude with I. Bend now the table a little 
towards your left, and put down the letters as you find 
them on the small pattern of the front part, viz. A, B, C, 
D, E, F, G, H, and I ; draw lines from A to I, from A to 
B, from B to C, from E to F, from F to G. You do not 
draw a line from C to E, as this is again the place for 
the circle of the sleeve hole. You get this circle by con- 
necting the dots C, D and E by several smaller dots, to 
complete the circle ; look at the same time at the pattern 
of the front waist, on the table, and you will see how it 
i3 to be finished. Now a circle is also to be made around 
the neck, which must extend from G to II, and from H to 
I. This circle of the neck must, however, not be too per- 
ceptible, but ought to appear rather straight. Put down 
between G and H, and H and I small dots, and ycu will 
understand how to make the circle very easily, by ob- 
serving it on the small pattern on the table. Now lay the 
pattern of the back where the letters B and C are marked, 
right on the front waist, where B and C stand, and direct 
the length of the front pattern just as long as that of the 
back, and put down a dot. Measure then the distance of 
the dot B of the front waist to the dot you have made just 
now, and put down also a dot at the same distance right 
under A. Draw now from the dot exactly under B right 



10 

across the dot A, a line about 2 inches further than the pat- 
tern reaches towards the left. Take the pointed end of 
your measure into your right hand, and putting it on the 
dot near D, measure towards the left, right over to the line 
that runs from A to I. You must see how far the nicks of 
the measure No. 5 go on the width of the breast and make 
there a dot. Now put the ruler on this dot, and draw a 
line in the same direction as A to I. By looking on the 
table you will see the pattern. Now draw the circle of the 
neck together as far as to this line. In order to obtain the 
correct height of the breast plaits, you have to draw a line 
on the pattern, commencing under the dot C, at the dis- 
tance of a finger's breadtb, and terminating on the line 
which runs from A to 1. The same distance gained from 
the line A to I, to the outside line, by the breast measure, 
No. 5, is now to be folded down the back from A to H, in 
the same direction as it is marked in the front pattern. 
This that is folded down allows for sewing the back and 
front together under the arm. 

Lay then the folded back pattern with B and C on the 
front pattern B and C, and put something on it, that it may 
not move from its position. Now lay the pointed end of 
your measure on the undermost line of the back pattern, 
from the corner that is folded down in a forward direction 
towards the front waist, as far as the mark of the measure 
No. 6 reaches, and make there on the undermost line a 
mark near the nick of the measure. The remainder of the 
waist produced by this mark is to be divided for the breast 
plaits. You may now take the fold out of the back, as it 
was folded only to get the correct size of the waist. If you 
wish two breast plaits, you divide the remainder in two 
equal parts. Commence the first plait at a distance of about 
two finger's breadth from the outside line on the undermost 
line. If the breast plaits are to be bias, place dots on the 
line running one finger's breadth under G, in an oblique 



11 

direction. If the breast plaits are to be stiaight, you pro- 
ceed in the midst from the marks which are intended for 
the plaits upwards, and make dots on the upper line. In 
the midst of these two breast plaits you proceed two fingers 
breadth from the undermost line downwards, and make a 
dot ; lay then the ruler on this dot, and draw r a line from it 
in an oblique direction upwards towards the outside line 
of the front waist, and also another, from the same dot, in 
a similar direction towards the corner B of the front waist. 

In case you wish but one breast plait, take the remain- 
der of the waist together, and place it also in a distance of 
two finger's breadth from the outside line, making on both 
sides of the plait dots on the undermost line. When you 
make but one breast plait, you have always to proceed 
higher up, about as high as D ; it may be in a straight or 
bias direction, as observed before. In the midst of this 
breast plait you make a mark, about the breadth of a thumb 
distant below the undermost line, and draw from this mark 
lines to each of the corners B and the outside line. You 
draw then lines from the upper dot to the under dots, one 
for each plait, as you will observe on the table. When the 
plaits are sewed, it is necessary to sew somewhat deeper, 
when in the midst of the plait, in order to form a cavity, 
and to make it fit better. When the front and back waist 
are sewed together, it is also necessary to sew, when in 
the midst, half an inch deeper, to obtain a fine shape ; but 
you must avoid doing it too far up or down. (See the table.) 

The pattern of the front waist is now completed, and 
may be cut fitting close to the neck, or with the waist cut 
out in front. Yet before it is cut out, all the letters must 
be placed correctly on the inside of the pattern, and if the 
lines are lengthened, A and B are to be placed on the un- 
dermost line. 

The front as well as the back waist are to be made 
round, about half an inch from the dots near F, so that this 



12 

roundness may terminate in the midst of the shoulders. 
(See the pattern on the Arithmetical Table.) In cutting 
the stuff after those two patterns, add as much to the 
shoulders as is necessary for the seams. You need not 
add anything for the sleeve-hole or neck. When the dress 
is to be hooked in front, reserve two inehes of the stuff in 
front ; if it is to be hooked in the back, reserve as much 
behind. If you wish the waist pointed in front of the 
dress, you must reserve as much stuff as will be required. 
If you wish the waist with plaits or decorations, you must 
prepare them at first, as described, and fix them after- 
wards on the waist. When you have measured the 
width of the breast from the dot D, and you find the 
space in front to be too small and insufficient for the 
seam of the waist under the arm, which will parti- 
cularly be the case with children's dresses, you have to 
reserve as much of the stuff, when cutting it, as will sup- 
ply for the seams. It is not necessary, when putting the 
back and front part together, (B and C,) and measuring the 
waist, in order to find the division of the breast plaits, to 
fold in any thing of the back pattern. 



>WV\'WV\<'VW% 



CUTTING OF THE SLEEVE. 

You put again a piece of white paper under the Arith- 
metical Table ; this paper must reach exactly as far as the 
table, both above and below, to your right 6 inches further 
than the table, and to your left about 9 inches further than 
the table. Put something heavy on it, that both may re- 
main in their position. Make dots on the figure of the 
sleeve in those holes where you find A, B and C, so that 
they may show on the paper under it. To the other lines 
proceeding from this figure of the sleeve, D, E and F, 
which you see encircled and which begin with 8, you have 
to apply exactly the same measure as to the front and back 



13 

waist ; that is to say, you make in the lines D, E and F 
dots in each of the holes near the number. Bend the table 
a little, and put down the letters near each dot carefully 
on the paper, as they are on the table. Now lay your 
ruler on the dots A, B and C, and draw a line across the 
paper to your right and left. Measure then, with a piece 
of ribbon, from the dot B to the dot F, and exactly in the 
midst between these two dots you put down a dot. Put 
down also a dot between the one just now made and the 
dot E, between the latter and F again one, and at last one 
between D and E. All these dots draw together from D 
to F, that you may have a circle as the figure of the mutton 
sleeve shows. Now put the pointed end of your measure 
on the dot F, and measure towards the circle, as far down 
as the hole No. 3 of your measure will reach, and there 
make a dot in the same direction with the dot D. If the 
measure No. 3 should reach farther than the dot D, you 
must widen the circle that much, and draw from the fixed 
dot a line which runs down to the line that is drawn 
from A to B and C. Now put down the letter D on the 
measured spot, and scratch the former D. You now lay 
the measure No. 4 on the line just drawn, and you will 
find that the width of the wrist on the pattern is somewhat 
wider than on the measure, which is calculated for the 
seams of the sleeve. Now take a piece of ribbon about 
three quarters of a yard long, and hold one end of it be- 
tween the thumb and pointing finger of your left hand, to- 
gether with a pencil, which latter must not stand too far 
forth from the finger, and put the pointed end of your pen- 
cil on the dot F. Then lay the other end of your ribbon 
tight down to the dot B, where the thumb of the right hand 
must hold the ribbon exactly on the dot B. Then go with 
your left hand finger, which holds the ribbon and pencil, 
around from the dot F, to your left, entirely down to the 
line running from A to B and C, and you will have a per- 



14 

feet circle. You must be very careful, while making the 
circle, to hold the ribbon very tight, and stretched as much 
as possible. (See the circle on the Table.) 

As for the wide sleeve, or bishop sleeve, you proceed in 
the same manner as the mutton sleeve, until you come to 
the circle. When making the circle of a bishop sleeve, 
you put one end of the ribbon and pencil, as above de- 
scribed, on the dot F, and the other end, instead of on the 
dot B, about a hand's breadth further to your right on the 
undermost line running through ihe dots X, B and C. 

It is not necessary that your sleeve be wider, in the lines 
I) and E, than 18 ; if the measure No. 7 reaches higher 
than 18, make a dot in 18, in the lines D and E. 

But if you wish to make a sleeve which shall be tight on 
the upper as well as under part, you must take the measure 
of the arm near the shoulder. You take then the half of 
this measure, lay it on the dot B, in the direction of F, and 
make a dot in the place where the measure reaches to, and 
mark it F. Take the end of the ribbon and pencil in your 
left hand, and place the pencil on the dot lastly made. The 
other end of the ribbon is to be held tightly at a distance of 
three finger's breadth* from the dot B to the right, and you 
make the ciicle from the dot you have marked F down- 
wards to the undermost line. The length and other width 
of the sleeve is made exactly according to the measure ; 
but you have to cut out, on the under part of your sleeve 
where it is sewed on the front waist, about one-fifth of the 
distance from B to F. In order that the tight sleeve may 
fit well, it is to be observed, that this sleeve, when sewed 
in, must be placed with its seam about two thumb's breadth 
further towards the front, (for a grown person) than the 
seam of the waist under the arm. 

* A finger's breadth means, the breadth of the finger of the person 
for whom the dress is to be made. So of a thumb's breadth, hand 
breadth, &c. 



15 
CUTTING OF COLLARS, CAPES, YOKES, &c. 

These are cut after the high waist. When cutting a 
collar or cape, lay the pattern of the front and back waist 
together, with the shoulders where you find F and G, and 
a paper of the size of both patterns under it, placing A and 
H of the back pattern on the edge of the paper. The cor- 
ners G must be close together ; the corners F, however, 
must be laid one finger's breadth one over another. If the 
collar is desired still closer and tighter, lay the corners F 
two or three finger's breadth one over another ; on the 
neck, however, where the two G's stand, they must be put 
precisely together. Place something heavy on it. Now 
make on the paper lying under the table the circle of the 
neck from I of the front waist to H of the back, and draw 
also lines on the same paper after the pattern in front from 
A to I, and behind from A to H. Then put a dot right 
into the middle of the circle of the neck, which is now be- 
fore you, and likewise another of the line of the back, as 
far back as you wish ihe collar to reach. After having 
taken away the papers of which you have cut your pattern 
hold one end of a piece of ribbon and a pencil between the 
thumb and pointing finger of your right hand and the other 
with your left, on the dot in the middle of the circle of the 
neck. You draw with your right hand, holding the ribbon 
tightly on the paper, a circle from your right to your left, 
from A to H on the back part, to the line A and I on the 
front, just the size the cape is to have. A cape should al- 
ways be shorter in front than behind ; it should be sloped 
towards the shoulder. "When you make a small collar, you 
take down also the figure of the circle of the neck exactly 
on the paper below, and draw a line behind, on the back, 
as long as the collar is to be. The pattern of the collar 
desired must be marked now on the front and back waist, 
when you stick with a pin, through the paper below, the 
shape of the collar seen. If you wish a yoke for a dress, 
lay the corners F and G, the shoulders of the pattern cut 



16 

for the front and back, close together, and make the circle 
of the neck on the paper below, and likewise on the shoul- 
der near the sleeve hole. Turn the pattern of front and 
back part as much as you wish the yoke to be long, and 
make the figure on the paper below. 



CUTTING OF A CLOAK, CAPE, AND YOKE. 

In order to cut a cloak it is necessaiy to have the pat- 
terns of the front and back waist. You put both patterns 
on the shoulder pieces F and G, with their corners toge- 
ther, and lay a piece of paper below, and a weight on 
them, so that they do not move. Now mark the circle of 
the neck, and draw a line close on the back, and another on 
the front, as long as you wish the yoke, and allow a thumb's 
breadth more in the direction A to I than the pattern. The 
thumb's breadth is reserved on account of the wadding the 
cloak requires. Make a dot on the paper that lays under 
the front pattern, between the letters E and F, about one 
or two thumb's breadth longer than the front pattern. This 
is added to let the yoke come down over the shoulder as 
far as desired. Now remove the patterns, and draw a circle 
from the dot towards the back, and another to the front. 

Before you sew the cloak on the yoke, cut out from two 
to three inches on the front pieces of the cloak, in an ob- 
lique direction, so that it loses itself towards iheshoulder to 
five-eighths of a yard. But this needs only be done with 
the front pieces. A cloak cape is to be cut in the same 
manner as a large collar, certainly always as long as de- 
sired. Observe, when cutting a large cape, you cut off in 
front about one-quarter of a yard, in an oblique direction 
towards the neck, where, however, it becomes impercepti- 
ble ; otherwise the cape will not fit well in front, but will 
lay one over the other. The small collar of the cloak is 
to be cut exactly according to the circle of the neck, as 
long behind and in front over the shoulders as is desired. 
ffnfe 



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013 964 909 6 



